Another D.C. Tax Office Employee Accused Of Fraud

There is more trouble brewing in D.C.'s Office of Tax and Revenue, as another employee has been accused of defrauding the city.

Federal prosecutors say Kimberle Davis used her position at OTR to help a tax preparation company — where she also worked part-time — to file fraudulent tax returns that cost the city more than $300,000 and the federal government as much as $3.8 million.

The Washington City Paper first reported the details of the case — which were contained in a criminal information, a document that typically means a defendant intends to plead guilty.

The city's tax office, which is under the control of the city's chief financial officer Natwar Gandhi, has suffered a series scandals. In 2007, OTR employee Harriet Walters was caught stealing more than $50 million. More recently, the tax office has been criticized for a lack of oversight.

D.C. Council Member David Catania, a vocal critic of Gandhi over the years, says the city needs to rethink the hiring process at OTR.

"You know, the sum total of graft and theft from the Office of Tax and Revenue in the last decade is mind-blowing," says Catania. "I don't know what internal policies and procedures are going to get to the bottom it."

David Umansky, a spokesperson for the CFO, says the office learned about the potential scam over a year ago and has been working with federal prosecutors ever since.

Mayor Vincent Gray, however, said he was shocked by the incident and had not been briefed — either by Gandhi or by prosecutors.